Afghanistan incumbent President Ashraf Ghani declared Sunday that he has registered with the 2019 election to contest the presidential elections slated for July 20. 

Ghani, 69, is seeking a second term amid the war with the hardline Islamic militants and ongoing peace talks between the United States and the Taliban. He will face competition from his one-time officials who have formed new alliances. Before his announcement of registration, President Ghani, accompanied by his wife and political allies, listed his National Unity government's achievements during the five-year term, including his consistent offer to hold unconditional peace talks with the Taliban in a televised announcement.

"I started the peace initiative and our team will bring stable and long-lasting peace to the country," he said, adding that if the Taliban consider themselves Afghans, they "should come and talk to us."

On Saturday Interior Minister Amrullah Saleh stepped down from his position to join the Ghani's team as a vice-presidential candidate. Ghani had appointed Saleh, once seen as a significant rival, in an effort to neutralize his political opponents and shore up support from Afghanistan's ethnic Tajiks, among whom Saleh commands strong backing.

A day earlier, former warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar announced running for president with the Afghanistan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, who currently holds a power-sharing agreement with Ghani.

Senior electoral officials, who have been accused of failing to conduct free and fair parliamentary elections last year, said they are committed to sticking to the deadline but the security situation could force them to delay polls by two months.

(Cover: Bloomberg Best of the Year 2018: Ashraf Ghani, Afghanistan's president, center, arrives at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2018. /VCG Photo)